Vacuum type dust collector apparatus for filling containers with comminuted material



Feb. 26, 1952 J BALLA, JR 2 587,089

VACUUM TYPE DUST C( JLLECTOR APPARATUS FOR FILLING CONTAINERS WITH COMMINUTED MATERIAL Filed July 15, 1947 i H ,i

To Vacuum l l JNVZZ'NFOR John Balla, Jr'. I $3) I I I I I 0.1 imckkau L. i attorneys Patented Feb. 26, 1952 VACUUM TYPE DUST COLLECTOR APPARA- TUS FQR FILLING CONTAINERS WITH COMMINUTED MATERIAL John Balla, Jr., Chicago, 111., assignor to Allen B. Wrisley Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application July 15, 19.47, Serial l\h 761,101 9 Glaims. (or. 226-116) 1 This invention relates to a method and apparatus for filling containers with comminuted material.

Methods and devices heretofore proposed for filling containers with finely divided comminuted material have not been entirely satisfactory. These materials are difiicult to handle when an attempt is made to place them in containers suitable for distribution. Diificulties have been experienced particularly with particulate material which is as finely divided as face powders, dusting powders, powdered dentifrices and similar substances. A number of devices have been proposed in the prior art for filling containers with substances of this nature. However, none of them have been entirely satisfactory and have been disadvantageous for the reason that these prior art machines require screens and valves for controlling the fiow of comminuted material into the container being filled.

It is one object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for readily filling containers with a finely divided comminuted material.

A further object of this invention is the :provision of a filler head for powder filling machines which eliminates the requirement for screens and valves that are employed in the devices of the prior art.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a filler head which is adapted to fill to any desired level a container having a small opening.

. A further object of this invention is the provision of a filling machine in which only a source of vacuum is required and no other source of power is needed.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a self-contained filler head'which may be adapted for use with any type of powderfilling machine.

Further and additional objects will appear from the following description, the accompanying drawing and the appended claims.

In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, a method has been provided for filling a container with a comminuted material to a predetermined level which includes the steps of introducing a filler tube into the container to a point corresponding to the level at which the container is to be filled, establishing an atmospheric pressure within said container less than the atmospheric pressure on the source of supply of the comminuted material for forcing the-comminuted material through the tube, thereafter disestablis'hing the above indicated pressure diiferential and withdrawing the tube from the container. An important feature of this invention is the provision of a filling tube which has a central passageway of a size and shape such that the particular comminuted material employed will not fiow therethrough by gravity action alone (because .of a packing and bridging effect produced by the material) but which may be made readily to, flow therethrough by the establishment of anatmospheric pressure differential at opposite ends thereof. Thus in accordance with this invention, the filling tube is open at all times from its discharge end to the source of supply of the .comminuted material. However, the comminuted material itself will not flow through the tube because the comminuted material bridges or packs within the narrow passageway. It will be apparent that the size and shape of the passageway in the tube may to some extent be dependent upon the characteristics of the particular comminuted material emp oy d- Although the comminuted material will not fiow by gravity through the filling tube, it may be made to do so by the establishment of a pressure differential between the opposite ends of the filling tube. This phenomenon has been taken advantage of in this present invention and accordingly the flow of comminuted material into the container may be made to occur in direct response to the establishment or disestablishment of a vacuum condition within the container during the filling operation. The filling tube preferably extends into the container to the level at which it is desired to fill the container. It will thus be seen that upon the establishment of a partial vacuum within the container, the comminuted material will flow thereinto until such time as the level reaches the end of the discharge tube. It will thereafter automatically stop since the level of the comminuted material Within the container blocks ofi further flow of comminuted material through the filling tube.

The above indicated method may be carried out by devices having a number of different forms. However, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention, a filler head for a filling machine may be provided which comprises a housing having an opening for receiving comminuted material, a spout within the opening and a filling tube communicating with the spout and depending from the housing, said spout-and said tube being spaced from the side walls of the housing opening providing an annular vacuum passageway therebetween. If desired, the annular vacuum passageway may be provided with a plurality of dust collecting pockets to prevent the loss of excess comminuted material to the vacuum pump. Also if desired, guide means may be associated with the filler head in order to insure proper positioning of the container with respect to said head.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. l is an elevational view of a filler head constructed in accordance with one embodiment of this invention shown in association with a hopper,avacuum line, andatrap; w

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the filler head shown in Fig. 1 and also showing (in broken lines) a container in filling position; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the filler head shown in Fig. 2 on the scale of Fig. 1.

With particular reference to the drawing, a filler head l may be fitted to the bottom end of a hopper l2 by means of brackets I4 and pins I6 which may be secured together in any desired manner. The filler head 18 is tapped on one side wall to produce a vacuum fitting l8 communicating with a source of vacuum, such as a vacuum pump (not shown), through flexible tubes 28 and 22 and a trap 24.

With more particular reference to Figs. 2 and 3, the filler head comprises a housing 28 having a generally funnel-shaped opening 28 extending therethrough. This opening is stepped at 38 to receive the lower portion of the filling hopper l2, also the opening 28 is provided with interior threads 32 to receive a generally funnelshaped spout 34 provided with a plurality of openings 38 for engagement with a spanner wrench or other desired tool so that the spout may be inserted into and removed from the open ing 28 within the housing 26. An orifice member 38 having a screwdriver slot 39 is threadably engaged with the reduced end portion of, the spout 34 and is provided with an opening 48. As shown, the orifice member 38 is threadably secured to a filling tube 42 having an enlarged head 44 and a passageway 46 which is in registry with the opening 48 in the spout to provide a continuous passageway from the spout to the lower discharge end of the filling tube. The filling tube extends below the lower surface of the housing 26 for a substantial distance and is capable of being inserted into a container opening to a point corresponding to the level at which it is desired to fill the container with the solid comminuted material.

As shown in the drawing, the spout 34, the orifice member 38 and the filling tube 42 are secured within the housing opening 28 by means of the threads 32 and in such a manner that a generally funnel-shaped vacuum passageway 48 bounded by the side walls of the opening and the spout, orifice member and filling tube is provided. A plurality of annular grooves fl'arecut or otherwise formed in the side walls of the opening 28 to provide a plurality of dust-collecting pockets within the funnel-shapedvacuum' passageway 48, the purpose of which will be hereinafter more fully explained.

A vacuum fitting I8 is threadably engaged into a side wall of the housing 26 and this vacuum fitting communicates through an orifice 52 to the flared upper portion of the funnel-shaped 4 passageway 48. Also the lower portion of the opening 28 in the housing 28 is cut to receive a grommet or washer 54 formed of rubber or other light resilient material. The grommet 54 is provided with a central orifice 56 which is of somewhat greater diameter than the outside diameterof the filling tube 42 for providing communication of the vacuum passageway 48 to the outside atmosphere.

Adjacent the bottom of the housing I8 is secured a sheet member 58 having an upwardly extending apertured depression therein which serves as a guide for the upper end of a container 68 which is tobe subjected to the filling operation. The sheet member 58 is generally spaced from the lower surface of the housing 26 by a plurality of bolts 62 to which it may be secured by bushings 84 in frictional and vertically adjustable relationship. It will thus be apparent that when the container is raised to the filler head a proper seating of the mouth of the container on the'grommet 54 will be insured by the guide means 58.

An important feature of this invention is the provision of an orifice member and filling tube which has a passageway of such size that gravity flow of the comminuted material employed in the device will not be permitted because of packing orbridging effects. Accordingly when no container is inserted in position under the filler head and only gravity is acting upon the com minuted material in the hopper and spout then no flow of comminuted material will take place. However, the passageway should be sufficiently large so that the packing or bridging eifect is lost or destroyed when an atmospheric pressure differential is applied at points on the opposite ends of the passageway. Thus in the device shown the packing and bridging efiect may be destroyed within the passageway by creating a vacuum within the container to be filled and comminuted material will readily flow through the filling tube into the container 68 until such time as the vacuum is broken or until such time as the level of the comminuted material within the container reaches the lower end of the filling tube 42. When either of these conditions obtain, the flow of comminuted material through the filling tube automatically stops.

The mode of operation of the above described device is as follows. The hopper l2 and the open ing 28 in the filler head 26 are filled with the desired solid, finely divided, comminuted material, such as face powder, dusting powder, tooth powder, or the like, the size of the passageway through the orifice member and filling tube being selected so that the particular powder will not fiow therethrough by gravity action alone because of packing and bridging effects. Thereafter flow of atmospheric air is established upwardly through the vacuum passageway 48, the orifice 52 and the vacuum fitting I8 by the operation of any suitable vacuum pump (not shown) arranged in operable relationship with tube 22. It is not necessary that high vacuums be used since approximately 10 inches of vacuum pressure will be satisfactory for most operations. It will be apparent at this point that air is continuously passed through the vacuum passageway 48 by the suction-producing means and that no flow of comminuted material will occur through the filling tube 42 and passageways 40 and 46 since there is no communication between the vacu urn-producing means and the comminuted mate:

rial within the filling tube or the orifice memher.

In order to operate the device, a container 60 is moved upwardly to the bottom of the housing 26 with the filling tube 42 being inserted through an upper openin in the container. The mouth of the container is guided to the grommet 54 by the guide means 58 and the container is pushed upwardly against the grommet in order to pro-- vide a substantially airtight seal. At this point the vacuum-producing means begins to exhaust air from the container 60 through the enlarged opening 56 in the grommet 54 and the vacuum passageway 48, thus creating an atmospheric pressure difierential between the discharge end of the filling tube passageway and the comminuted material in the hopper l2. This breaks the bridge formed by the communited material and the latter is rapidly forced by atmospheric pressure into the container at. The flow of comminuted material into the container 60 continues until the level of the material reaches the end of the filling tube at which time, because the material is solid and not liquid, the flow of material through the filling tube stops automatically' Thereafter the container is removed from airtight engagement with the grommet, thus breaking the vacuum within the container. As the container is then moved downwardly there is no additional flow of comminuted material through the filling tube because of the absence of the atmospheric pressure differential at this time.

During the filling operation small amounts of dust may be withdrawn through the enlarged opening 56 into the vacuum passageway 48. This,

dust will collect to a large degree within the annular pockets formed within the passageway which serve as traps. Furthermore because of the generally progressively increasing cross-sectional area of the vacuum passageway in the direction of the movement of the air, the dust particles will have a tendency to settle directly therein. After the vacuum has been broken just prior to the removal of the container, the surge of air through the vacuum passageway will loosen the material collected therein and it will tend to drop back through the enlarged opening 56 and into the container before it is completely withdrawn from beneath the filling head. Additional dust which may pass through the vacuum passageway 48 and through the vacuum fitting l8 may be collected in a suitable trap-out container 24 if desired.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a filler head, machine and method have been provided which are simple in operation and very effective. Novel results have been achieved without the necessity of employing screens or moving mechanisms that are contemplated by prior art devices. The filler head is automatic and insures a clean flow of the comminuted material into the container without waste. By proper selection of sizes of the filling tube it has been found that it is possible to fill containers by the herein proposed method very rapidly.

While a particular embodiment of this invention is shown above, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not to be limited thereto, since many modifications may be made, and it is contemplated, therefore, by the appended claims, to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A filler head for feeding comminuted material into a container comprising a housing having a generally funnel-shaped opening extending therethrough, a generally funnel-shaped spout substantially concentric with said opening and nested therewithin, and a filling tube also substantially concentric with said opening communicating with said spout and depending from a lower surface of said housing, said spout and said tube being spaced from the side walls of said opening providing an annular funnel-shaped vacuum passageway therebetween, a side wall of said annular vacuum passageway having a plurality of annular dust-collecting pockets formed therein. a

2. A filling machine for feeding comminuted material into a container to a predetermined level which comprises a source of supply of said material, a downwardly directed spout communicating with said source of supply, an elongated filling tube adapted to be inserted into a container opening to a point corresponding to said level, a generally funnel-shaped vacuum passageway .adapted to communicate with said container at its reduced end andpositioned annularly of said tube and said spout, a fitting for communicating said vacuum passageway at its flared end with a vacuum producing means, the total crosssectional area of said vacuum passageway increasing generally progressively from said reduced end to said flared end and a side wall of said vacuum passageway being provided with a plurality of annularly extending dust-collecting pockets, and means extending peripherally of said reduced end communicating means for establishing a substantially airtight engagement of said container therewith whereby the vacuum condition obtaining in said vacuum passageway is transmitted through said container to the open end of said tube, said pockets having lower wall portions sloping downwardly toward said reduced end and said tube for permitting the discharge of collected dust from the reduced end of said vacuum passageway.

3. A filler head for feeding comminuted material into a container comprising a housing having a generally funnel-shaped opening extending therethrough, a generally funnel-shaped spout substantially concentric with said opening and nested therewithin, said spout being threadably engaged in vertically adjustable relationship with said housing adjacent an upper portion of said opening, and a filling tube removably attached to and communicating with said spout and depending from a lower surface of said housing, said spout and said tube being spaced from the side walls of said housing within said opening providing an annular funnel-shaped vacuum passageway therebetween.

4. A filler head for feeding comminuted material into a container which includes means forming a filling passageway and means forming an annular vacuum passageway concentric with said filling passageway, said passageways opening at their lower ends into said container during a filling operation, said annular vacuum passageway having an upwardly progressing increased cross-sectional area and having an annular baflle and cooperating groove therein providing a dustcollecting means, and means for discharging collected dust from said annular vacuum passageway into said container.

5. A filler head for feeding comminuted material into a container comprising a housing having an opening for receiving said material, a spout within said opening, and a filling tube communieating with said spout and depending from said housing, said spout and said tube being spaced from the side wall of said housing opening providing an annular generally funnel-shaped vacuum passageway therebetween having an upwardly progressing increased cross-sectional area, said side wall having an annular baflie and cooperating groove therein providing a dust-collecting pocket in said passageway, a lower wall of said pocket sloping in a downward direction for permitting the discharge of collected dust from said passageway.

6. A filler head for feeding comminuted material into a container which includes means forming a filling passageway and means forming an annular vacuum passageway concentric with said filling passageway,-said passageways opening at their lower ends into said container during a filling operation, said annular vacuum passageway having an upwardly progressing increased cross-sectional area and having therein means forming an annular bafile and cooperating groove providing a dust-collecting pocket, said pocket having. a lower wall sloping in a downward direction toward said filling passageway for discharging collected dust from the lower end of said annular vacuum passageway.

7. A filler head for feeding comminuted material into a container comprising a housing having an opening for receiving said material, a spout within said opening, and a filling tube communicating with said spout and depending from said housing, said spout and said tube being spaced from the side wall of said housing opening pro viding an annular generally funnel-shaped vacuum passageway therebetween having an upwardly progressing increased cross-sectional area, said side wall having an annular baffle and cooperating groove therein providing a dust-collecting pocket in said passageway, a lower wall of said pocket sloping in a downward direction for discharging collected dust from the lower end of said passageway.

8. A filler head for feeding comminuted material into a container comprising a housing having a generally funnel-shaped opening extending therethrough, a generally funnel-shaped spout substantially concentric with said opening and nested therewithin, a filling tube communicating with said spout and depending from a lower surface of said housing, said spout and said tube being spaced from the side wall of said i g:

providing an annular generally funnel-shaped vacuum passageway therebetween, having an upwardly progressing increased cross-sectional area, said side wall having an annular bailie and cooperating groove therein providing a dust-collecting pocket in said passageway, the lower wall of said pocket sloping in a downward direction toward said tube for discharging collected dust from "the lower end of said passageway.

9. A filler head for feeding comminuted material into a container comprising a housing having a generally funnel-shaped opening extending therethrough, a generally funnel-shaped spout substantially concentric with said opening and nested therewithin, and a filling tube also substantially concentric with said opening communi eating with said spout and depending from a lower surface of said housing, said spout and said tube being spaced from the side walls of said opening providing an annular funnel-shaped vacuum passageway therebetween, said spout be-' ing secured within said housing in vertically adjustable relationship thereto, and a side wall of said annular vacuum passageway having a plurality of annular dust-collecting pockets formed therein. JOHN BALLA, J R.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

